Lions Tail Dried Wild Dagga Petals
	The Intoxicating Allure of Wild Dagga Wild Dagga is also known as Lion’s Ear, because its orange flower looks a bit like a lion's ear. The Latin word for lion (leon) is also found in the word leonurine, which is the scientific name of the esoteric chemical found in this shrub which comes to us from its native land of South Africa. Leonurine has been isolated for centuries – usually by drying the leaves of the Wild Dagga plant and smoking them in a pipe – by tribes who use the substance as a form of mild but intensely pleasurable intoxicant. The plant is becoming well known in the West, because it provides what many consider to be a safe and legal alternative to illegal marijuana.
S145 Wild Dagga 7g $33.88  S179 Wild Dagga 14g $64.13  S180 Wild Dagga 28g $121.00

A Short Introduction to Ancient, Exotic, Potent Wild Dagga

Wild Dagga, also know as Lion's Ear, is a plant native to the South African region, and it has a long and respected history of tribal use as a medicine, good luck charm or protective agent against evil spirits, and recreational intoxicant.

The Wild Dagga or Lion's Ear shrub, with its woody stems and long, skinny leaves, is hearty, requiring little attention or special soil and nutrients in order to thrive. The bush frequently grows in austere, sun-drenched environments, and at full maturity is about two or three feet tall and 12-18 inches wide. Wild Dagga is often found in pastures, open grasslands, or growing within the nooks and crevices of sun-drenched rocks.

Of course snakes – and that includes poisonous varieties native to Africa that can inflict fever and other radical symptoms with one strike – also enjoy sunny terraces made of native stone. Fortunately, Wild Dagga is used to repel snakes, and also as an alternative medicine is to cure victims of snakebite. In traditional medicine it is also used by as a folk remedy to treat headache, dysentery, fever, and swelling.

In the fall, when leaves on trees turn colors, the flowers of the Wild Dagga do indeed go wild, bursting with blooms into tight clusters of flaming orange. Sometimes the flowers are a mixture of orange and white, and the whorls are somewhat similar to the shape and hue of the wild mountain azalea. The form and color of the inner part of the blossom led scientists to give it the Latin name Leonotis , meaning lion's ear. It vaguely resembles one, and the little lion flowers really roar with impact when they open in a stunning and wild display – often presenting the only color in an otherwise drab and barren landscape.

Most gardeners cultivate the plant for the striking color it adds to gardens in the autumn, and because it is notorious for attracting all sorts of pollinating creatures. Birds, bees, and butterflies will always arrive in droves if a patch of Wild Dagga is in bloom, because the flowers produce unusually large amounts of nectar. Because it makes a nice border plant in landscape designs, it is often used for that purpose in warm climates like southern California .

But others grow Wild Dagga for another kind of nectar, namely the exotic chemical alkaloid leonurine , which they enjoy by first drying the leaves of the plant and then smoking them for pleasure or creative insight. Those who understand the procedure for preparing the herbal concoction often compare the high they get from Wild Dagga to that achieved by smoking the kind buds of the marijuana plant.

It is simultaneously relaxing and mind-altering, because the plant contains subtle but measurable psychoactive properties. And although the process of extracting the intoxicant from Wild Dagga requires a rudimentary knowledge of the plant, it does not necessitate the kind of careful timing involved in harvesting sensitive plants like marijuana.

More significantly, it is not against the law to cultivate and smoke Wild Dagga in the United States , whereas possession of even a seedling of marijuana is a violation that can bring a stiff jail sentence and severe fines.